The Five Girlfriends Every Woman Needs

Just as we need more than one lipstick in our beauty arsenal, so do we need our "broad squad" to help us survive the tribulations of work, marriage, and family — not to mention fashion emergencies! Of course, you may have one great friend who can handle all your problems on her own. Lucky you! But others of us have different specialists on call for each life challenge, including but not limited to how to wreak revenge on an evil boss and how to sniff out whether your teenager has told the truth. In this excerpt from her book The Secret Language of Girlfriends, Karen Neuburger tells which gal pals can get you through which predicaments.

Friends

Friends

2. The Secret-Keeper

2. The Secret-Keeper

Definition: The friend in whom you confide your online dating disasters and the exact number of unpaid parking tickets in your glove compartment.

My best friend, Mary, is the keeper of all my secrets. In good times, our private language allows us to finish each other's sentences; in bad times, we require no conversation at all. Just when I hit rock bottom, Mary moves with the speed of a freight train to make sure that everything in my life is in operational order. After I got divorced, Mary single-handedly packed up my home and moved me into a new place — all in less than 12 hours (as I watched, paralyzed, on a recycled Piggly Wiggly box). Later, as I sat eating powdered-sugar donuts on the sofa, she and my daughter Dany unpacked, turned on the stereo, and sang show tunes all night long. Whether we're engaging in retail therapy or inhaling macaroni and cheese in my kitchen, Mary's the pal I want to share everything with.